JACOB'S JOURNEY, Escape From Communist Russia

JACOB'S JOURNEY, Escape From Communist Russia by Neufeld, Herb H.. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780533133529.

This is a true story of suffering and hardship experienced by Jacob and Helena Neufeld, their nine sons and two daughters, in Communist Russia. Their story is an account of great physical and mental endurance while fleeing the Communist regime. In their efforts to avoid confrontation with Russian soldiers, they existed in the frozen wastelands of Western Siberia. In order to avoid being arrested on trumped-up charges, Jacob moved his large family from Western Siberia to the Southeastern fringes of Siberia with the expectation of escaping into China and beyond. In 1929, he decided to risk taking the family across the frozen Amur River, but paid the high price of having to leave his oldest daughter, Marie, behind. The familys many moves were calculated to save lives as the relentless red Guards closed in on them; however, in 1930, the familys fortunes turned to great joy when they received permission to leave China and depart to the United States. When World War II began, six of Jacobs sons joined the U.S. Army. While four boys were engaged in the European battle fields and two were situated in the Pacific, Jacob passed away in April 1943, at the age of 87. Through their courageous and indomitable spirit, Jacob and Helena had completed a desperate and dangerous journey to the United States, the land of the free and the home of the brave.